Milford Graves was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, Professor Emeritus of Music, researcher/inventor, visual artist/sculptor, gardener/herbalist, and martial artist. Graves was noteworthy for his early avant-garde contributions in the 1960s with Paul Bley, Albert Ayler, and the New York Art Quartet, and is considered to be a free jazz pioneer, liberating percussion from its timekeeping role. The composer and saxophonist John Zorn referred to Graves as "basically a 20th-century shaman."
ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.
Town Hall, 1962 is a live album by Ornette Coleman, recorded on December 21, 1962 at New York City's Town Hall and released in 1965 by the ESP-Disk label. It was the first recording of Coleman's new trio, featuring rhythm section David Izenzon and Charles Moffett.
The New York Art Quartet was a free jazz ensemble, originally made up of saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, drummer Milford Graves and bassist Lewis Worrell, that came into existence in 1964 in New York City. Worrell was later replaced by various other bassists, including Reggie Workman, Finn Von Eyben, Harold Dodson, Eddie Gómez, Steve Swallow, and Buell Neidlinger. All About Jazz reviewer Clifford Allen wrote that the group "cut some of the most powerful music in the free jazz underground".
Giuseppi Logan was a jazz musician, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who taught himself to play piano and drums before switching to reeds at the age of 12. At the age of 15 he began playing with Earl Bostic and later studied at the New England Conservatory. In 1964 he relocated to New York and became active in the free jazz scene.
Lowell Davidson was a jazz pianist and biochemist from Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for his "sensible and free flowing approach to unconventional linear improvisation", but appeared on only a handful of commercially-available recordings. Davidson also played bass, percussion, organ, electronic keyboards, and reed instruments.
Spiritual Unity is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollman's ESP-Disk label, and it brought Ayler to international attention as it was so "shockingly different". At the same time, it transformed ESP-DISK into "a major source for avant-garde jazz". A 5-star review in AllMusic called it a "landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of free jazz", "the album that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde... really the first available document of Ayler's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians", and stated that "the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic."
Frank Wright was an American free jazz musician, known for his frantic style of playing the tenor saxophone. Critics often compare his music to that of Albert Ayler, although Wright "offers his honks and squawks with a phraseology derived from the slower, earthier funk of R&B and gospel music." According to AllMusic biographer Chris Kelsey, Wright "never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was 'underground' his entire career." In addition to tenor saxophone, Wright also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.
New York Eye and Ear Control is an album of group improvisations recorded in July 1964 by an augmented version of Albert Ayler's group to provide the soundtrack for Michael Snow's film of the same name.
Bernard Stollman was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label.
Vietnam, also referred to as Vietnam 1 & 2 is a live album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded in 1972 and released on the ESP-Disk label.
More is the second album by American jazz saxophonist Giuseppi Logan, recorded in May 1965 and released in 1966 by the ESP-Disk label. The album features Logan on alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, and piano along with pianist Don Pullen, bassists Eddie Gómez and Reggie Johnson, and drummer Milford Graves.
Percussion Ensemble is an album by American percussionist Milford Graves, recorded in July 1965 and released in 1966 by the ESP-Disk label. On the album, Graves is joined by fellow percussionist Sonny Morgan. The two had previously recorded together on the Montego Joe albums Arriba! and Wild & Warm. Morgan would go on to play and record regularly with Leon Thomas and others, but died in 1976.
Sunny Murray, also known as Sunny Murray Quintet, is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his second as a leader. It was recorded in New York City in January, 1966, and released on the ESP-Disk label. The album features Murray on drums along with alto saxophonists Byard Lancaster and Jack Graham, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, and bassist Alan Silva. A remastered version, which includes an interview between Murray and ESP founder Bernard Stollman, was issued by ESP-Disk in 2007.
Frank Wright Trio is the debut album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in November 1965 in New York City, released by ESP-Disk in 1966, and reissued on CD in 1992. On the album, Wright is joined by bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Tom Price. The tracks were also reissued in 2005 on the Frank Wright compilation The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings.
Marzette Watts and Company, also known as Marzette and Company, is the debut album by saxophonist and composer Marzette Watts. It was recorded in December 1966 in New York City, and was released by ESP-Disk in 1968. On the album, Watts is joined by saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist Byard Lancaster, cornetist and trombonist Clifford Thornton, guitarist Sonny Sharrock, vibraphonist Karl Berger, bassists Henry Grimes and Juney Booth, and drummer J. C. Moses. The album, which was reissued by ESP-Disk in 2012, was recorded under the supervision of Clifford Thornton.
Jacques Coursil was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy.
Minimal Brass is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Fingerlakes Recording in Ithaca, New York in November 2004, and was released in 2005 by Tzadik Records. On the album, Coursil performs fanfares composed of multiple overdubbed parts that employ circular breathing.
Skillfulness is an album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded in November 1968 in New York City, and was released in 1969 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Silva is joined by flutist Becky Friend, pianist Dave Burrell, pianist and organist Mike Ephron, vibraphonist Karl Berger, and percussionists Lawrence Cooke, Barry Altschul, and Mario Pavone. The recording was made shortly before Silva moved to Europe.
The Will Come, Is Now is an album by bassist Ronnie Boykins, his sole release as a leader. It was recorded during February 1974, and was released on LP in 1975 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Boykins is joined by multi-instrumentalists Joe Ferguson and Jimmy Vass, saxophonist Monty Waters, trombonist Daoud Haroom, and percussionists Art Lewis and George Avaloz. Saxophonist Marzette Watts was the recording engineer.
